Ouch! That looks painful! …Thoughts on meeting your clients where they are
Selling new ideas about how we see management and leadership functions is a lot like teaching yoga.
You don’t teach Hanuman asana (splits pose) in a beginner class.
It is simply too much! It’s intimidating and it alienates you from the people you want to connect with. Instead, as a yoga teacher, you show up with the intent to serve. You ask people about their injuries, their moods, etc. as they come in the door and then tailor the class to those needs.
It’s not about what the instructor CAN provide. It’s about what the people coming in the door NEED on a given day.
Those needs change. You may see someone walk in the door who has a very advanced practice, or who is a professional athlete in another sport and think “Oh- let’s crank it up a notch!” Yet those kinds of assumptions often backfire. The super-athlete may be nursing an injury or need stress relief because of a challenging personal situation. Likewise, many of us who do not necessarily look the part may be craving a tough and challenging workout.
The point is that the instructor has to ASK.
Once you figure out who is in the class and why they came on a given day, you, the instructor, are poised to provide the most rewarding experience possible. You add a posture for the guy with tight hamstrings who just hiked yesterday, subtract a backbend for the woman who was recently injured, or add a headstand for the college kid who feels the need to push a little harder. The class is a tailored product designed to leave everyone smiling. Of course, the bigger the class, the harder it is to accommodate those needs, but when we are blessed to have a reasonably small group the conditions are prime for that kind of service. —There is nothing better than the contented look on someone’s face as they leave the class with a “That was exactly what I needed today!”
So in our other business endeavors, how do we provide that kind of service?
Backing up the truck, how do we get the opportunity to serve in the first place?
I am conducting some market research for an online course that I am developing. (To participate, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/X9CTLYF) The results so far have been both surprising and very useful to me. I’ll avoid giving too much detail here, so as not to taint the responses yet to come, but let’s just say that it has gotten me thinking about how I market my work.
For a long time I did the consulting equivalent of trying to teach splits pose in a beginner class. I was so in love with the big ideas that I had a hard time meeting people where they were. Losing the jargon was step #1— something I still struggle with, but have vastly improved. Step #2 was building trust by getting to know people and letting them get to know me. That involves blogging and more formal publishing, networking, developing a PR strategy, expanding my volunteer work, etc. When we ask people to consider thinking in new ways, it helps if they know and trust us and have seen us in action. Step #3 was to develop a value proposition, the ability to answer the client’s question, “What’s in it for me?” Then there is time, consistency, patience, and constant refinement of the message and modes of delivery...
Not to mention good old-fashioned persistence!
I have finally made peace with the idea that many business people don’t necessarily want to understand all the details of why my approach works. They want enough understanding to feel comfortable, but beyond that, some people simply want to be resasonably certain that results, tangible, money-in-my-pocket results, are coming— something that is tough to guarantee when working with human beings. Just as the person who comes to a beginning yoga class may not necessarily aspire to having an advanced practice, business people who hire consultants may not want to become experts in the tools they end up using to gain efficiency and competitive advantage.
That is the teacher/consultant’s job— to seek understanding of the whole iceberg, but respectfully and purposively present the portions of its tip that apply to a particular student/client’s situation.
This was a tough lesson for me and, if they are honest, for many others who have attained a certain level of specialized knowledge that they want to share. Think of the mechanic who bends your ear for an hour discussing carburetors when you are in a hurry and just want an oil change. It's good to know that he has a depth of expertise, but you may not appreciate the display of specialized knowledge when it is off topic. You like knowing his toolbox is full, but don't need to see every wrench!
So how abut you?
Can you tailor your services to each client's specific needs?
Most of all, can you meet people where they are without judgment and honor their efforts by sharing what you know?
Copyright Gly Solutions, LLC 2015
